


Raise It Up

by damalur



Category: Alias (Comics), Avengers (Comic), Marvel, Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: Community: heroines_fest, Female Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-13
Updated: 2011-03-13
Packaged: 2017-10-16 22:08:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/169858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damalur/pseuds/damalur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She isn't obligated, she just...likes the kid, that's all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Raise It Up

1.

The knock at her door in the middle of the night isn't a surprise. It isn't regular, either, Kate turning up like this, but she's done it enough times that Jessica is resigned rather than surprised. Luke's out with Danny, which means it's Jess's job to roll out of bed and get to the door before the baby wakes up.

"Kate," she says, "you can't keep doing this."

"Does that mean you aren't going to let me in?"

Jess takes the girl in, the way her purple costume is stained with blood, the dark circles under her eyes. "Fine," she says, and swings the door open. "But keep it down, Danielle's asleep."

"Sure thing," Kate whispers, and lets herself in. Which, fuck, is probably a metaphor for her whole life, or something. People always letting themselves in. Especially Kate—she has a knack for it, showing up until you don't have the heart to throw her out anymore. Except then she asks, "Can I have a cigarette?" and Jess has to roll her eyes.

"No," she says. "I don't smoke anymore."

Kate looks at her.

"Fine," she says again. "But out on the porch." Even Luke doesn't know she has a pack of ultra-lites hidden in her sock drawer, but Kate isn't part-time head of her own team at eighteen because she has to powers of a radiated unicorn.

Jess slides the door shut behind her and offers the cigarettes.

"You aren't having one?"

"Guess I finally grew out of it," Jess says.

"Go figure," Kate says, and holds out her hand for the lighter. Good; if she doesn't have a lighter on her, she isn't smoking regularly. She takes the lighter, holds the cigarette but doesn't light it. Her hands, Jess notices, are shaking.

"I mean it, you know," Jess says. "You can't keep showing up here like I'm a legitimate role model. Go find Carol or Hawkeye—you've got the legacy thing with him, anyway."

"He's busy," Kate says, "and I like you. Besides, I don't think you get to pick whether you're a role model or not. You're on the Avengers. There's an action figure of you."

"Oh god. Don't even."

"Yep. Comes in a two-pack with Power Man. Billy has the full set," Kate says.

Tonight's a new moon. Sometimes Jess wonder what it would be like, having powers other than the strength and flight that seem nearly common. Like Peter, maybe—can he see in the dark? Carol could light up the alley with one of her photon blasts, at least.

"So what's up?" Jess says.

Kate lifts a shoulder. "Nothing, really. Just...couldn't be at home right now."

"Yeah," Jess says.

"Do you ever think about quitting again?"

Does she? She's only been back in the costume for a handful of months, and yeah, it can be rough. Dealing with Dani, too, that can be hard—hard to wait at home when the rest of her friends, the rest of her _family_ are off facing some deluded maniac, and even harder when she has to leave her daughter behind.

"No," she says, honestly. "I thought I would, but for where I am right now? This is what I need to be doing. Maybe that'll change when Dani gets older, or"—she smirks—"when I can't pull off white spandex without looking like the Michelin Man, but hey." She knocks her shoulder against Kate's. "You're allowed to change your mind."

"Yeah," Kate says. "Yeah. Thanks."

Jess grunts, because what is she supposed to say? She reties the belt of her robe instead, and—huh. It's Luke's. No wonder she feels like she's wearing a circus tent.

"I need to go," Kate says, and hands back the lighter and the unlit cigarette.

"Not in the mood for a smoke after all?"

Kate hops the railing, fluid in a way Jessica herself never could've managed. "I outgrew it," she says, and then drops down to the street. Jess hears her hit the dumpster and roll, and then she disappears into the night.

Jess looks at the pack of Salems, and then tosses it over the edge. Luke will never let her live it down if he finds it, anyway.

 

2.

The knock at her door in the middle of the night isn't a surprise; Dani visits regularly, almost every week now that she's back from college. Not until Kate's hand is on the doorknob does she realize the tapping is coming from the window _beside_ the door. She throws open the window and there Dani is, hovering above the street, her dark hair tangled from the summer storm.

"Hey," Dani says. "Can I come in?"

"Not like I was sleeping anyway," Kate says.

Dani slips through the window, and almost immediate her eyes catch on Kate's bow. She doesn't need to learn to shoot, not with her parents' strength, but she's been after Kate to give her lessons since she hit fifteen. Kate's been biding her time, though, waiting for the opportune moment.

"Can't sleep?"

"Going over rosters," Kate corrects.

"I thought Captain America did that kind of thing."

"Captain America stands in front for the photoshoots. He couldn't work a database if I drew him directions in crayon," Kate says, which is true enough. The press loves Eli as much as he hates them, and she works with the Maria Stark Foundation to chair the team, which means she gets the bulk of the paperwork. "So what's up?"

Dani helps herself to a barstool in the kitchen. "Nothing. Just...I'm thinking about dropping out of school," she says in a rush.

"Oh, I bet your mom loves that."

Dani makes a face. "She won't even talk to me right now. I hope Dad calms her down enough to have an actual conversation about it."

"Huh," Kate says, and looks down at the list of names on her counter. "You know, we have a couple of spots opening up on the team. Tony's retiring again, and Xavin wants to take a sabbatical."

"Really?"

"The thing is, we don't really need more Avengers right now. There are absolutely zero major threats on the horizon. No alien invasions, even." She flips casually to the next page of the roster. "It's a good time for people to take some time, work on a project, take some classes, go on vacation. Whatever."

Dani heaves a sigh, like she can't stand to hear this lecture from one more adult in her life.

"So I'd lay money that those spots won't be filled in another couple of years," Kate says. "In fact, I'd even be willing to hold one of them if I had a good enough candidate."

It takes Dani a couple of seconds to piece that together, but she's as quick as her mom. "You mean it?"

"Absolutely," Kate says, and really, it has nothing to do with her obligations as co-chair of the Avengers or how many night Jess opened her door to Kate, and everything to do with how much she likes Dani. Doesn't hurt that she saw the kid take down the third Iron Patriot single-handedly, either.

"Do me a favor, though," Kate adds. "Come up with your own name." There are enough Hawkeyes running around to reform the merry men, and Dani deserves a fresh start.

 

3.

The knock at her door in the middle of the night isn't a surprise. Dani contemplates staying in bed—there is _no_ reason she should give up sleep for some punk teenager in tights—but then she thinks, yeah.

And goes to answer the door.


End file.
